Everything is a Remix

The "Everything is a Remix" video really opened my eyes to the lack of originality in the entertainment industry. To create new projects, they often times look at other forms of entertainment and seek ideas and concepts to use for their own. Similarly, I often times do this in my writing. When assigned a topic to write on, I usually ask  my peers how they are going to go about writing theirs or I even look up ideas on the internet. Not to copy in any way but to get a general idea of what direction I should be going towards. This concept goes with what we're discussing in class. Plagiarism. When it comes to writing papers, it's often times easier to get inspiration from other papers and assignments, just like the entertainment recycles ideas.

Plagiarism Lines Blur For Students in Digital Age

In Trip Gabriel's article "Plagiarism Lines Blur For Students in Digital Age", he expands on the widespread plagiarism across universities in the country.  As millennial babies, we grew up as technology really was beginning to advance. We were ones who transitioned from books to the internet as our main source of information. Although technology plays a vital role in our paper writing process, that's all it is. Just one role. Many can argue that plagiarism allows for "lazy" students to write papers on topics they can't articulate on. Writing is a process and sometimes we need other sources to formulate our own ideas and opinions. Often times, we don't even know how to properly cite our sources.

Why don't we complain?

   Our task this week was to read through the author's point of view, or in other words, read like a writer. Before reading William Buckley's "Why Don't We Complain?", I envisioned a dry narrative on how to complain. As I read through Buckley's writing, my attention was caught almost immediately. The style of writing in the 1960's, I imagine, was much more proper between author and reader, but Buckley took a more laid-back approach to reach his audience. His personal anecdotes really strengthened his claim and I think it worked in his favor because it was easier for his audience to relate and agree with him. I also noticed his vocabulary wasn't too informal or too proper, but achieved a perfect medium to reach his audience. Through his use of diction and day to day examples, it's pretty clear Buckley knew who his audience was. 

   His argument in context to our modern day life is just as relevant as it was back then. I think this is something we could read now, not knowing it was written in the 60's, and be able to relate to it. His timeless examples are something we experience in our lives on a daily basis. Being able to captivate an audience's attention is something thats pretty important in everything we write.